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news and ARTWORK FROM NIKI MCQUEEN
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It's still chilly here down south, but we've had some unseasonably beautiful days. It's been good to feel the sun on our faces as sap-rising time approaches, the darkest part of winter is past us now.
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TALES FROM JULY
In early July, myself and Amanda Palmer released Liberty Bleeds, third in the Liberty Triptych.
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I released the other three works below, and am currently busy with two commissions, both of which are deeply personal and are dedicated to very special humans I am lucky enough to know. They will be released later in the year.
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I had what I thought was going to be a nightmare trip to the dentist and was more than pleasantly surprised...so much so, I felt his office deserved a new artwork, the artist's proof of which is also below.
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FAREWELLS
We lost some familiar faces this month. Andrea Gibson, poet laureate. Ozzy Osbourne, hellspawn, and Tom Lehrer, mathmagical alchemist and possibly the best satirist of his age. Some of his songs are eerily relevant in current times, I feel.
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Andrea was one of my favourite poets and I am also working on an artwork inspired by one of my favorite of her works.
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I thought I would share it with you as it is short and beautiful and calming and wise.
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Friend, you are who taught me
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Joy is just easier to carry than sorrow,
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and you could lift a city
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from how long you’ve spent holding
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what’s been nearly impossible to hold.
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But this world needs those
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Those who can find a tunnel
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with no light at the end of it
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and hold it up like a telescope
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to show that the darkness
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that can bring the light to its knees.
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adjust the lens, look close,
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tell the world what you see.
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THE VULEKA AWARD
Maybe the most exciting news of this month is that one of my works has placed in the top 40 of the Vuleka art competition, perhaps Cape Town's most prestigeous art award. We'll find out the winners tomorrow (2 August)! Hold thumbs xx
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RESPITE AND RETROSPECTIVES
I have been riding the tide (tsunami?) the muse sent my way, for five long years now. I have creatively pushed myself beyond the bounds of endurance. Many times. And many times, I have sworn to rest. But the inspiration wouldn't stop. Now I must learn to rest despite it.
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I turn 50 years old this month, and I feel this is a most excellent excuse for a sabbatical after I'm done with the few things I'm working on. I have lined up a financial adviser, a tax dude and a plan to survive without art sales (because when you don't make and market, you tend not to sell).
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I will keep this newsletter and my Patreon going, and will definitely feature some retrospectives of work you'll likely never have seen.
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I wish you all the best for the month ahead and my deep gratitude for your support,
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THIS MONTH'S ARTWORKS
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Liberty Bleeds, Liberty’s Resignation and Liberty’s Pride are a set of three artworks that myself and Amanda Palmer conceptualized together, called “The Liberty Triptych”.
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100% of the profits of the print sales will go to the ACLU. (American Civil Liberties Union)
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The full write-up is on my Patreon and the posters are now for sale. They are 18x 24″, matte-finished and are available as a bundle, or individually HERE for $20 USD each, or $50 USD for the bundle. They ship internationally. The original artworks are also available for sale and you are welcome to email me to inquire by responding to this mail.
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In 1948, a South African author named Alan Paton, wrote a book set during the times which led to the formation of Apartheid in our land. It is a heartbreaking read, called Cry, the Beloved Country. When I think of America, that is the phrase that comes back to haunt my mind, over and over again.
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A farewell to Sorrow's Gift, original variant 3 of 3, 15x21" - the last in the originals edition run, July 2025, sold.
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I love this picture, and making the last original work in the edition run was both difficult and bittersweet.
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For those of you who are newish and don't know how my art works, the basis of the physical part of my process is a hand-transferred underprint, which comes from a complex digital composite. As such, I make very limited edition original variants of most pieces, usually 3 works only, and sometimes an artist's proof. You can read about variants HERE and my technique HERE.
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What is a goddess worth when she is no longer worshipped, but but consumed by the gaze? Viewed, not venerated? When her divinity is stripped and her body catalogued, cropped, and sold?
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This work is a meditation on the commodification of beauty, the collapse of the sacred into spectacle.....
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There comes a moment in healing the self, where a choice must be made. Many moments. Or the same moment presented in many guises, as we gaze ever deeper into the fractured vessel. This is about those moments.
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This is the Artist's proof of the work I am making for my dentist :)
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THE BIT AT THE END
ABOUT THE ART
All the work you see here is created using mixed media with an underprint on Fabriano, Artistico 300gsm or 640gsm paper. These are available for purchase as original artworks or as archival, museum-quality fine art prints. You can view my full portfolio at https://nikimcqueen.com
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ETSY
A limited selection of my work is also available for international buyers in my Etsy store, in various print formats at nikimcqueenart.etsy.com. (South African buyers please contact me directly for prints.)
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PATREON
For more intimate content, access to behind-the-scenes videos and musings, and bonus free gifts and discounts, you can follow my Patreon page. It's TOTALLY FREE to join, and the bulk of the content I post is not paywalled if you are not in a position to join a paid tier. The income generated is 100% used to create art and cover medical costs.
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CONTACTING ME
If you have any queries or would like a quote, please feel free to respond to this email (nikimcqueen@gmail.com), or WhatsApp me on +27721417007.
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WHY DID I GET THIS EMAIL?
You’re receiving this email either from signing up on my website or because we’ve connected through art.
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This is a monthly digest of my latest pieces. If you don’t want to be on this mailing list, please click on the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email, and I offer my apologies for the inconvenience.
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